马关含笑 ma guan han xiao

Magnolia opipara (Hung T. Chang & B. L. Chen) Sima.

Trees, deciduous or semideciduous, to 16 m tall, to 50 cm d.b.h. Old twigs grayish yellow, rough; juvenile twigs brown, terete, glabrous or with trichomes when young, with elliptic grayish yellow prominent lenticels; buds long ovoid, with white silky trichomes. Stipular scar 1/4-1/3 as long as petiole. Petiole 2.5-3 cm; leaf blade obovate to broadly obovate, 20-27 × 7-11 cm, thinly leathery, abaxially glaucous and at first grayish white pubescent but glabrescent, adaxially green and glabrous or at first grayish white pubescent, midvein adaxially slightly impressed and abaxially conspicuously prominent, pubescent, but glabrescent, secondary veins 13-18 on each side of midvein, reticulate veins dense and prominent on both surfaces when dry, base cuneate to rounded, apex abruptly acute. Brachyblasts 4-6 mm, robust, gray pubescent; bracts 3, spathaceous, outermost bract appressed yellow pubescent, innermost ones spreadingly pubescent. Flower buds ellipsoid, ca. 4.2 × 1.6 cm. Tepals 8, yellow; outer 3 tepals obovate, ca. 3.8 × 1.5 cm; innermost 2 tepals oblanceolate, ca. 3.4 × 1 cm, thinly fleshy. Androecium narrowly ellipsoid, ca. 2.3 cm; stamens ca. 93, 1.3-2 cm; filaments 2-4 mm; connective exserted and forming a mucro; anthers 0.9-1.4 cm. Gynophore ca. 8 mm; carpels ca. 140, ovoid, grayish white to pale yellow tomentose; styles 1.5-2 mm, glabrous. Fruiting brachyblasts ca. 1.5 cm, pale yellow pubescent. Fruit 11.5-14.3 cm; mature carpels ovoid, 1.5-2 × 0.9-1.1 cm, with lenticels, apex shortly beaked. Seeds 1 or 2 per carpel. Fl. Apr, fr. Sep-Oct.

● Evergreen broad-leaved forests; 1600-1900 m. SE Yunnan (Maguan).

This could well be a variety of Michelia doltsopa.